Page 10 of A Touch Charmed

He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I think you should go.”

“Wait.” I sat up, which pulled one of the wires, sending a smaller machine crashing to the floor. “Isn’t there anything else you want to check?”

He shut off his equipment and ran a hand through his mop of dark blond curls. “You’re using me as an excuse to avoid drama with Thora.”

“I’m doing no such thing.”

He gave me a pointed look.

“Whatever,” I grumbled. “I can see I’m not wanted here. It’s fine. I’ll just go. Feel free to tell me not to let the door hit me on my way out.”

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” he deadpanned.

“Come on.” I threw my hands in the air. “Where’s your brotherly loyalty?”

“Forcing you to do shit you hate, but that’s good for you, is brotherly loyalty.” He opened the door and gestured for me to leave. “Tell Thora I said hi.”

As soon as I stepped outside, he shut the door in my face. I’d remember this the next time he couldn’t get his bedroom window to close during a rainstorm.

I stretched my arms over my head as the bright sun beat down on me. I loved summer mornings on the island. Galen didn’t have an oceanfront cottage, but the waves could be heard from practically anywhere. Except for the dead zone at the center of the forest, of course.

My dad came up the hill carrying a casserole my mom had made for Galen. She’d stopped feeding me and Rafe ages ago, but Galen could get lost in research and forget to go grocery shopping. Though I think she secretly liked taking care of him best.

I gave him a nod. I was still pissed he’d brought Thora over on the ferry and didn’t tell me, but I didn’t want to make it a thing, so I acted like I’d let it go.

He stopped in front of me. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“At least someone’s glad I’m here.” I shot a dirty look at Galen’s front door.

“If you’re here, it means you’re not creeping around the Chases’ property.” My dad leveled a dark look at me. “You’re playing a dangerous game there, son.”

My defenses immediately went up. It didn’t surprise me that people in town were talking, that’s just what they did, but my dad had no business lecturing me on this. “I’m not playing games, and I don’t give a fuck about the mayor.”

“You should give a fuck. The town hall meeting was a soft hit. There is only so much protection Wes can offer your business if he targets you.”

I understood my dad’s paranoia. Twenty-five years earlier, well before my dad had married my mom, he’d run a pretty successful landscaping business on the island. The mayor’s sprawling estate had been one of his biggest accounts. Until there was a falling out between them. Warren Chase had not only fired my dad, but also quietly spread rumors that he’d stolen from him, causing my dad’s business to dry up and go under. It was how he ended up running the ferry instead of working for himself.

But my dad’s issues with the mayor had nothing to do with me and Thora, and he needed to stop putting that on me. I didn’t like the mayor either. He was a terrible father and an all-around asshole, but he only had as much power as people were willing to give him, and I wasn’t willing to give him shit.

“I appreciate your concern.” I slapped him on the back. “But I’ve got a handle on this.”

He shook his head. “You never should’ve gotten tangled up with his daughter.” At the expression on my face, he took a step back. “I don’t mean any harm when I say that. Thora is a nice girl, but she comes with baggage.”

“And I’m an adult. I know what I’m capable of carrying.”

Sensing this would widen the small rift between us, my dad changed the subject, giving me an update on the bathroom remodel he was in the process of doing for my mom. A topic I was much more comfortable with.

I hated his assessment of Thora. Though he wasn’t the only one who thought she had baggage. She was the mayor’s daughter and that came with connotations she hadn’t asked for or earned. People already had her pegged in their minds without knowing a damned thing about her, and somehow, she’d still managed to find a way to stand on her own.

Which only made me feel like a bigger jackass for that comment I made to her the other day about getting a handout from her father. Thora never asked for anything. Not even the things she needed. Maybe especially not the things she needed.

I really should’ve gone fishing this week.

After I said my goodbyes to my dad and promised I’d stop by their place later this week to see my mom, I headed in the direction of the Chases’.

Galen had been right to kick my ass out. My deep loathing of drama aside, I should’ve been camped out on Thora’s doorstep until she either let me in or had me hauled off by the police. The curse had already put in an appearance two days ago. It hadn’t been able to pull itself into a corporeal form, but it had tried its damnedest. It thought it had a chance.

That worried me.

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